1 | 1 | | I |
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2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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3 | 3 | | 1 |
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4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 168 |
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5 | 5 | | To improve the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary |
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6 | 6 | | of the Interior to carry out forest management activities that reduce |
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7 | 7 | | the risk of catastrophic wildfires, and for other purposes. |
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8 | 8 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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9 | 9 | | JANUARY3, 2025 |
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10 | 10 | | Mr. L |
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11 | 11 | | AMALFAintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- |
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12 | 12 | | mittee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Re- |
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13 | 13 | | sources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in |
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14 | 14 | | each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- |
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15 | 15 | | tion of the committee concerned |
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16 | 16 | | A BILL |
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17 | 17 | | To improve the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture and |
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18 | 18 | | the Secretary of the Interior to carry out forest manage- |
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19 | 19 | | ment activities that reduce the risk of catastrophic |
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20 | 20 | | wildfires, and for other purposes. |
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21 | 21 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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22 | 22 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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24 | 24 | | (a) S |
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25 | 25 | | HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 |
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26 | 26 | | ‘‘Targeted Operations to Remove Catastrophic Hazards 5 |
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27 | 27 | | Act’’ or the ‘‘TORCH Act’’. 6 |
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30 | 30 | | •HR 168 IH |
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31 | 31 | | (b) TABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 |
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32 | 32 | | this Act is as follows: 2 |
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33 | 33 | | Sec. 1. Short title. |
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34 | 34 | | TITLE I—HAZARDOUS FUEL REDUCTION ACTIVITIES |
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35 | 35 | | Sec. 101. Categorical exclusion for high priority hazard tree activities. |
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36 | 36 | | Sec. 102. Utilizing timber sales on National Forest System land for extreme |
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37 | 37 | | risk reduction. |
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38 | 38 | | Sec. 103. Utilizing grazing for wildfire risk reduction. |
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39 | 39 | | Sec. 104. Amendments to the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 to im- |
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40 | 40 | | prove wildfire mitigation. |
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41 | 41 | | Sec. 105. Amendment to fuel breaks in forests and other wildland vegetation. |
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42 | 42 | | TITLE II—GOOD NEIGHBOR AUTHORITY |
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43 | 43 | | Sec. 201. Modification of the treatment of certain revenue and payments under |
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44 | 44 | | good neighbor agreements. |
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45 | 45 | | TITLE III—ELECTRICAL UTILITY LINES RIGHTS-OF-WAYS AND |
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46 | 46 | | RELATED VEGETATION MANAGEMENT |
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47 | 47 | | Sec. 301. Vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and main- |
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48 | 48 | | tenance relating to electric transmission and distribution facil- |
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49 | 49 | | ity rights-of-way. |
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50 | 50 | | Sec. 302. Categorical exclusion for electric utility lines rights-of-way. |
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51 | 51 | | Sec. 303. Permits and agreements with electrical utilities. |
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52 | 52 | | TITLE IV—REFORM OF CERTAIN ADMINISTRATIVE |
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53 | 53 | | REQUIREMENTS |
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54 | 54 | | Sec. 401. Nonapplicability of certain additional consultation requirements of |
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55 | 55 | | the Endangered Species Act of 1973. |
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56 | 56 | | Sec. 402. Amendment to categorical exclusion for collaborative restoration |
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57 | 57 | | projects. |
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58 | 58 | | TITLE I—HAZARDOUS FUEL 3 |
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59 | 59 | | REDUCTION ACTIVITIES 4 |
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60 | 60 | | SEC. 101. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR HIGH PRIORITY 5 |
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61 | 61 | | HAZARD TREE ACTIVITIES. 6 |
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62 | 62 | | (a) C |
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63 | 63 | | ATEGORICALEXCLUSION.— 7 |
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64 | 64 | | (1) I |
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65 | 65 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 8 |
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66 | 66 | | the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 9 |
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67 | 67 | | of Agriculture shall develop a categorical exclusion 10 |
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68 | 68 | | (as defined in section 1508.4 of title 40, Code of 11 |
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71 | 71 | | •HR 168 IH |
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72 | 72 | | Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)) for 1 |
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73 | 73 | | high priority hazard tree activities. 2 |
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74 | 74 | | (2) A |
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75 | 75 | | DMINISTRATION.—In developing and ad-3 |
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76 | 76 | | ministering the categorical exclusion under para-4 |
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77 | 77 | | graph (1), the Secretary shall— 5 |
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78 | 78 | | (A) comply with the National Environ-6 |
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79 | 79 | | mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 7 |
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80 | 80 | | seq.); and 8 |
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81 | 81 | | (B) apply the extraordinary circumstances 9 |
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82 | 82 | | procedures under section 220.6 of title 36, Code 10 |
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83 | 83 | | of Federal Regulations (or successor regula-11 |
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84 | 84 | | tions), in determining whether to use the cat-12 |
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85 | 85 | | egorical exclusion. 13 |
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86 | 86 | | (b) P |
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87 | 87 | | ROJECTSIZELIMITATIONS.—A project to carry 14 |
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88 | 88 | | out high priority hazard tree activities to which a categor-15 |
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89 | 89 | | ical exclusion under subsection (a) is applied may not ex-16 |
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90 | 90 | | ceed 3,000 acres. 17 |
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91 | 91 | | (c) D |
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92 | 92 | | EFINITIONS.—In this section: 18 |
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93 | 93 | | (1) H |
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94 | 94 | | IGH-PRIORITY HAZARD TREE .—The term 19 |
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95 | 95 | | ‘‘high-priority hazard tree’’ means a standing tree 20 |
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96 | 96 | | that— 21 |
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97 | 97 | | (A) presents a visible hazard to people or 22 |
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98 | 98 | | Federal property due to conditions such as de-23 |
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99 | 99 | | terioration of or damage to the root system, 24 |
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100 | 100 | | trunk, stem, or limbs of the tree, or the direc-25 |
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103 | 103 | | •HR 168 IH |
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104 | 104 | | tion or lean of the tree, as determined by the 1 |
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105 | 105 | | Secretary; 2 |
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106 | 106 | | (B) is determined by the Secretary to be 3 |
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107 | 107 | | highly likely to fail and, if it failed, would be 4 |
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108 | 108 | | highly likely to cause injury to people or dam-5 |
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109 | 109 | | age to Federal property; and 6 |
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110 | 110 | | (C) is within 300 feet of a National Forest 7 |
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111 | 111 | | System road with a maintenance level of 3, 4, 8 |
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112 | 112 | | or 5, a National Forest System trail, or a devel-9 |
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113 | 113 | | oped recreation site on National Forest System 10 |
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114 | 114 | | lands that is operated and maintained by the 11 |
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115 | 115 | | Secretary. 12 |
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116 | 116 | | (2) H |
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117 | 117 | | IGH-PRIORITY HAZARD TREE ACTIVI -13 |
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118 | 118 | | TIES.—The term ‘‘high priority hazard tree activi-14 |
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119 | 119 | | ties’’— 15 |
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120 | 120 | | (A) means forest management activities 16 |
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121 | 121 | | that mitigate the risks associated with high-pri-17 |
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122 | 122 | | ority hazard trees, including pruning, felling, 18 |
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123 | 123 | | and disposal of those trees; and 19 |
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124 | 124 | | (B) does not include any activity— 20 |
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125 | 125 | | (i) conducted in a wilderness area or 21 |
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126 | 126 | | wilderness study area; 22 |
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127 | 127 | | (ii) for the construction of a perma-23 |
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128 | 128 | | nent road or permanent trail; 24 |
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131 | 131 | | •HR 168 IH |
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132 | 132 | | (iii) conducted on Federal land on 1 |
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133 | 133 | | which, by Act of Congress or Presidential 2 |
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134 | 134 | | proclamation, the removal of vegetation is 3 |
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135 | 135 | | restricted or prohibited; 4 |
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136 | 136 | | (iv) that would be inconsistent with 5 |
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137 | 137 | | the applicable land and resource manage-6 |
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138 | 138 | | ment plan; or 7 |
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139 | 139 | | (v) conducted in an inventoried 8 |
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140 | 140 | | roadless area. 9 |
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141 | 141 | | SEC. 102. UTILIZING TIMBER SALES ON NATIONAL FOREST 10 |
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142 | 142 | | SYSTEM LAND FOR EXTREME RISK REDUC-11 |
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143 | 143 | | TION. 12 |
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144 | 144 | | Section 14 of the National Forest Management Act 13 |
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145 | 145 | | of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a) is amended— 14 |
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146 | 146 | | (1) in subsection (d) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and 15 |
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147 | 147 | | inserting ‘‘$50,000’’; and 16 |
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148 | 148 | | (2) by adding at the end the following new sub-17 |
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149 | 149 | | section: 18 |
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150 | 150 | | ‘‘(j) In the event of extreme risks to a unit of Na-19 |
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151 | 151 | | tional Forest System land, including catastrophic wildfire, 20 |
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152 | 152 | | insect and disease outbreak, wind, hurricane, flood, 21 |
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153 | 153 | | drought, or to avoid impacts from such extreme events, 22 |
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154 | 154 | | the Secretary may, without an appraisal and under such 23 |
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155 | 155 | | rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary, dispose 24 |
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156 | 156 | | of by sale or otherwise, portions of trees, or forest prod-25 |
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159 | 159 | | •HR 168 IH |
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160 | 160 | | ucts located on such unit of National Forest System 1 |
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161 | 161 | | lands.’’. 2 |
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162 | 162 | | SEC. 103. UTILIZING GRAZING FOR WILDFIRE RISK REDUC-3 |
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163 | 163 | | TION. 4 |
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164 | 164 | | The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 5 |
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165 | 165 | | Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, in coordination with 6 |
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166 | 166 | | holders of permits to graze livestock on Federal land, shall 7 |
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167 | 167 | | develop a strategy to increase opportunities to utilize live-8 |
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168 | 168 | | stock grazing as wildfire risk reduction strategy, includ-9 |
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169 | 169 | | ing— 10 |
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170 | 170 | | (1) completion of reviews (as required under the 11 |
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171 | 171 | | National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (U.S.C. 12 |
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172 | 172 | | 4321 et seq.)) to allow permitted grazing on vacant 13 |
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173 | 173 | | grazing allotments during instances of drought, wild-14 |
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174 | 174 | | fire or other natural disasters that disrupt grazing 15 |
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175 | 175 | | on allotments already permitted; 16 |
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176 | 176 | | (2) use of targeted grazing; 17 |
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177 | 177 | | (3) increase use of temporary permits to pro-18 |
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178 | 178 | | mote targeted fuels reduction and reduction of 19 |
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179 | 179 | | invasive annual grasses; 20 |
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180 | 180 | | (4) increased use of grazing as a postfire recov-21 |
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181 | 181 | | ery and restoration strategy, where appropriate; and 22 |
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182 | 182 | | (5) use all applicable authorities under the law. 23 |
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185 | 185 | | •HR 168 IH |
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186 | 186 | | SEC. 104. AMENDMENTS TO THE HEALTHY FOREST RES-1 |
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187 | 187 | | TORATION ACT OF 2003 TO IMPROVE WILD-2 |
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188 | 188 | | FIRE MITIGATION. 3 |
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189 | 189 | | (a) P |
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190 | 190 | | ROMOTINGCROSS-BOUNDARYWILDFIREMITI-4 |
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191 | 191 | | GATION.—Section 103(e)(5) of the Healthy Forests Res-5 |
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192 | 192 | | toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6513(e)(5)) is amended 6 |
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193 | 193 | | by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2030’’. 7 |
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194 | 194 | | (b) W |
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195 | 195 | | ILDFIRERESILIENCEPROJECTSIZE.—Section 8 |
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196 | 196 | | 605(c)(1) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 9 |
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197 | 197 | | (16 U.S.C. 6591d(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘3000 10 |
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198 | 198 | | acres’’ and inserting ‘‘10,000 acres’’. 11 |
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199 | 199 | | SEC. 105. AMENDMENT TO FUEL BREAKS IN FORESTS AND 12 |
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200 | 200 | | OTHER WILDLAND VEGETATION. 13 |
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201 | 201 | | Section 40806(d)(1) of the Infrastructure Investment 14 |
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202 | 202 | | and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592b(d)(1)) is amended by 15 |
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203 | 203 | | striking ‘‘3,000 acres’’ and inserting ‘‘10,000 acres’’. 16 |
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204 | 204 | | TITLE II—GOOD NEIGHBOR 17 |
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205 | 205 | | AUTHORITY 18 |
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206 | 206 | | SEC. 201. MODIFICATION OF THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN 19 |
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207 | 207 | | REVENUE AND PAYMENTS UNDER GOOD 20 |
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208 | 208 | | NEIGHBOR AGREEMENTS. 21 |
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209 | 209 | | (a) G |
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210 | 210 | | OODNEIGHBORAUTHORITY.—Section 8206 of 22 |
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211 | 211 | | the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) is amend-23 |
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212 | 212 | | ed— 24 |
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213 | 213 | | (1) in subsection (a)(6), by striking ‘‘or Indian 25 |
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214 | 214 | | tribe’’; and 26 |
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217 | 217 | | •HR 168 IH |
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218 | 218 | | (2) in subsection (b)— 1 |
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219 | 219 | | (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, 2 |
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220 | 220 | | Indian tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; 3 |
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221 | 221 | | (B) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking clause 4 |
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222 | 222 | | (i) and inserting the following: 5 |
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223 | 223 | | ‘‘(i) I |
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224 | 224 | | N GENERAL.—Funds received 6 |
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225 | 225 | | from the sale of timber by a Governor, an 7 |
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226 | 226 | | Indian tribe, or a county under a good 8 |
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227 | 227 | | neighbor agreement shall be retained and 9 |
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228 | 228 | | used by the Governor, Indian tribe, or 10 |
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229 | 229 | | county, as applicable— 11 |
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230 | 230 | | ‘‘(I) to carry out authorized res-12 |
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231 | 231 | | toration services under the good 13 |
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232 | 232 | | neighbor agreement; and 14 |
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233 | 233 | | ‘‘(II) if there are funds remain-15 |
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234 | 234 | | ing after carrying out subclause (I), 16 |
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235 | 235 | | to carry out authorized restoration 17 |
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236 | 236 | | services under other good neighbor 18 |
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237 | 237 | | agreements.’’; and 19 |
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238 | 238 | | (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, In-20 |
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239 | 239 | | dian tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; and 21 |
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240 | 240 | | (D) by striking paragraph (4). 22 |
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241 | 241 | | (b) C |
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242 | 242 | | ONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.—Section 8206(a) 23 |
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243 | 243 | | of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(a)) is 24 |
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244 | 244 | | amended— 25 |
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247 | 247 | | •HR 168 IH |
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248 | 248 | | (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ‘‘, Indian 1 |
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249 | 249 | | tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; and 2 |
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250 | 250 | | (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, Indian 3 |
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251 | 251 | | tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’. 4 |
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252 | 252 | | (c) E |
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253 | 253 | | FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 5 |
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254 | 254 | | this Act apply to any project initiated pursuant to a good 6 |
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255 | 255 | | neighbor agreement (as defined in section 8206(a) of the 7 |
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256 | 256 | | Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(a)))— 8 |
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257 | 257 | | (1) before the date of enactment of this Act, if 9 |
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258 | 258 | | the project was initiated after the date of enactment 10 |
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259 | 259 | | of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public 11 |
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260 | 260 | | Law 115–334; 132 Stat. 4490); or 12 |
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261 | 261 | | (2) on or after the date of enactment of this 13 |
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262 | 262 | | Act. 14 |
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263 | 263 | | TITLE III—ELECTRICAL UTILITY 15 |
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264 | 264 | | LINES RIGHTS-OF-WAYS AND 16 |
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265 | 265 | | RELATED VEGETATION MAN-17 |
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266 | 266 | | AGEMENT 18 |
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267 | 267 | | SEC. 301. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPEC-19 |
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268 | 268 | | TION, AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 20 |
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269 | 269 | | RELATING TO ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND 21 |
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270 | 270 | | DISTRIBUTION FACILITY RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 22 |
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271 | 271 | | (a) H |
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272 | 272 | | AZARDTREESWITHIN50 FEET OFELECTRIC 23 |
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273 | 273 | | P |
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274 | 274 | | OWERLINE.—Section 512(a)(1)(B)(ii) of the Federal 24 |
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275 | 275 | | Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 25 |
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278 | 278 | | •HR 168 IH |
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279 | 279 | | 1772(a)(1)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘10’’ and in-1 |
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280 | 280 | | serting ‘‘50’’. 2 |
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281 | 281 | | (b) C |
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282 | 282 | | ONSULTATIONWITHPRIVATELANDOWNERS.— 3 |
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283 | 283 | | Section 512(c)(3)(E) of the Federal Land Policy and 4 |
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284 | 284 | | Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1772(c)(3)(E)) is 5 |
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285 | 285 | | amended— 6 |
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286 | 286 | | (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 7 |
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287 | 287 | | (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and in-8 |
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288 | 288 | | serting ‘‘; and’’; and 9 |
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289 | 289 | | (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 |
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290 | 290 | | ‘‘(iii) consulting with private land-11 |
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291 | 291 | | owners with respect to any hazard trees 12 |
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292 | 292 | | identified for removal from land owned by 13 |
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293 | 293 | | such private landowners.’’. 14 |
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294 | 294 | | (c) R |
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295 | 295 | | EVIEW ANDAPPROVALPROCESS.—Clause (iv) 15 |
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296 | 296 | | of section 512(c)(4)(A) of the Federal Land Policy and 16 |
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297 | 297 | | Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1772(c)(4)(A)) is 17 |
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298 | 298 | | amended to read as follows: 18 |
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299 | 299 | | ‘‘(iv) ensures that— 19 |
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300 | 300 | | ‘‘(I) a plan submitted without a 20 |
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301 | 301 | | modification under clause (iii) shall be 21 |
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302 | 302 | | automatically approved 60 days after 22 |
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303 | 303 | | review; and 23 |
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304 | 304 | | ‘‘(II) a plan submitted with a 24 |
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305 | 305 | | modification under clause (iii) shall be 25 |
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308 | 308 | | •HR 168 IH |
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309 | 309 | | automatically approved 67 days after 1 |
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310 | 310 | | review.’’. 2 |
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311 | 311 | | SEC. 302. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR ELECTRIC UTIL-3 |
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312 | 312 | | ITY LINES RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 4 |
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313 | 313 | | (a) C |
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314 | 314 | | ATEGORICALEXCLUSIONESTABLISHED.—For-5 |
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315 | 315 | | est management activities described in subsection (c) are 6 |
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316 | 316 | | a category of activities designated as being categorically 7 |
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317 | 317 | | excluded from the preparation of an environmental assess-8 |
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318 | 318 | | ment or an environmental impact statement under section 9 |
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319 | 319 | | 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 10 |
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320 | 320 | | U.S.C. 4332). 11 |
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321 | 321 | | (b) F |
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322 | 322 | | ORESTMANAGEMENTACTIVITIESDESIGNATED 12 |
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323 | 323 | | FORCATEGORICALEXCLUSION.—The forest management 13 |
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324 | 324 | | activities designated as being categorically excluded under 14 |
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325 | 325 | | subsection (b) are— 15 |
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326 | 326 | | (1) the development and approval of a vegeta-16 |
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327 | 327 | | tion management, facility inspection, and operation 17 |
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328 | 328 | | and maintenance plan submitted under section 18 |
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329 | 329 | | 512(c)(1) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-19 |
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330 | 330 | | ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1772(c)(1)) by the 20 |
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331 | 331 | | Secretary concerned; and 21 |
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332 | 332 | | (2) the implementation of routine activities con-22 |
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333 | 333 | | ducted under the plan referred to in paragraph (1). 23 |
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334 | 334 | | (c) A |
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335 | 335 | | VAILABILITY OFCATEGORICALEXCLUSION.— 24 |
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336 | 336 | | On and after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 25 |
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339 | 339 | | •HR 168 IH |
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340 | 340 | | Secretary concerned may use the categorical exclusion es-1 |
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341 | 341 | | tablished under subsection (b) in accordance with this sec-2 |
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342 | 342 | | tion. 3 |
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343 | 343 | | (d) E |
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344 | 344 | | XTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.—Use of the 4 |
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345 | 345 | | categorical exclusion established under subsection (b) shall 5 |
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346 | 346 | | not be subject to the extraordinary circumstances proce-6 |
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347 | 347 | | dures in section 220.6, title 36, Code of Federal Regula-7 |
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348 | 348 | | tions, or section 1508.4, title 40, Code of Federal Regula-8 |
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349 | 349 | | tions. 9 |
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350 | 350 | | (e) E |
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351 | 351 | | XCLUSION OFCERTAINAREAS.—The categor-10 |
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352 | 352 | | ical exclusion established under subsection (b) shall not 11 |
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353 | 353 | | apply to any forest management activity conducted— 12 |
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354 | 354 | | (1) in a component of the National Wilderness 13 |
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355 | 355 | | Preservation System; or 14 |
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356 | 356 | | (2) on National Forest System lands on which, 15 |
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357 | 357 | | by Act of Congress, the removal of vegetation is re-16 |
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358 | 358 | | stricted or prohibited. 17 |
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359 | 359 | | (f) P |
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360 | 360 | | ERMANENTROADS.— 18 |
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361 | 361 | | (1) P |
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362 | 362 | | ROHIBITION ON ESTABLISHMENT .—A for-19 |
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363 | 363 | | est management activity designated under subsection 20 |
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364 | 364 | | (c) shall not include the establishment of a perma-21 |
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365 | 365 | | nent road. 22 |
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366 | 366 | | (2) E |
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367 | 367 | | XISTING ROADS.—The Secretary con-23 |
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368 | 368 | | cerned may carry out necessary maintenance and re-24 |
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369 | 369 | | pair on an existing permanent road for the purposes 25 |
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373 | 373 | | of conducting a forest management activity des-1 |
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374 | 374 | | ignated under subsection (c). 2 |
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375 | 375 | | (3) T |
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376 | 376 | | EMPORARY ROADS .—The Secretary con-3 |
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377 | 377 | | cerned shall decommission any temporary road con-4 |
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378 | 378 | | structed for a forest management activity designated 5 |
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379 | 379 | | under subsection (c) not later than 3 years after the 6 |
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380 | 380 | | date on which the action is completed. 7 |
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381 | 381 | | (g) A |
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382 | 382 | | PPLICABLELAWS.—A forest management activ-8 |
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383 | 383 | | ity designated under subsection (c) shall not be subject 9 |
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384 | 384 | | to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 10 |
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385 | 385 | | U.S.C. 1536), section 106 of the National Historic Preser-11 |
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386 | 386 | | vation Act, or any other applicable law. 12 |
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387 | 387 | | (h) S |
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388 | 388 | | ECRETARYCONCERNEDDEFINED.—In this sec-13 |
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389 | 389 | | tion, the term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 14 |
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390 | 390 | | (1) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 15 |
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391 | 391 | | National Forest System lands; and 16 |
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392 | 392 | | (2) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect 17 |
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393 | 393 | | to public lands. 18 |
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394 | 394 | | SEC. 303. PERMITS AND AGREEMENTS WITH ELECTRICAL 19 |
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395 | 395 | | UTILITIES. 20 |
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396 | 396 | | (a) I |
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397 | 397 | | NGENERAL.—In any special use permit or ease-21 |
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398 | 398 | | ment on National Forest System lands provided to an elec-22 |
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399 | 399 | | tric utility company (as defined in section 1262 of the En-23 |
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400 | 400 | | ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16451)) the Secretary 24 |
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401 | 401 | | of Agriculture may provide permission to cut and remove 25 |
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405 | 405 | | trees or other vegetation from within the vicinity of dis-1 |
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406 | 406 | | tribution lines or transmission lines, including hazardous 2 |
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407 | 407 | | vegetation that increases fire risk, without requiring a sep-3 |
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408 | 408 | | arate timber sale if that cutting and removal is consistent 4 |
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409 | 409 | | with the applicable land management plan. 5 |
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410 | 410 | | (b) U |
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411 | 411 | | SE OFPROCEEDS.—A special use permit or 6 |
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412 | 412 | | easement that includes permission for the cutting and re-7 |
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413 | 413 | | moval of trees or other vegetation described in subsection 8 |
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414 | 414 | | (a), shall include a requirement that, if the applicable elec-9 |
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415 | 415 | | trical utility sells any portion of the material removed 10 |
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416 | 416 | | under the permit or easement, the electrical utility shall 11 |
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417 | 417 | | provide to the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the 12 |
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418 | 418 | | Forest Service, any proceeds received from the sale, less 13 |
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419 | 419 | | any transportation costs incurred in the sale. 14 |
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420 | 420 | | (c) R |
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421 | 421 | | ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-15 |
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422 | 422 | | tion shall be construed to require the sale of any material 16 |
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423 | 423 | | removed under a special use permit or easement that in-17 |
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424 | 424 | | cludes permission for the cutting and removal of trees or 18 |
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425 | 425 | | other vegetation described in subsection (a). 19 |
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429 | 429 | | TITLE IV—REFORM OF CERTAIN 1 |
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430 | 430 | | ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIRE-2 |
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431 | 431 | | MENTS 3 |
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432 | 432 | | SEC. 401. NONAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN ADDITIONAL 4 |
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433 | 433 | | CONSULTATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE EN-5 |
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434 | 434 | | DANGERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973. 6 |
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435 | 435 | | (a) F |
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436 | 436 | | ORESTSERVICEPLANS.—Section 6(d)(2) of the 7 |
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437 | 437 | | Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 8 |
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438 | 438 | | of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(d)(2)) is amended to read as 9 |
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439 | 439 | | follows: 10 |
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440 | 440 | | ‘‘(2) N |
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441 | 441 | | O ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION RE -11 |
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442 | 442 | | QUIRED UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES .—Not-12 |
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443 | 443 | | withstanding any other provision of law, the Sec-13 |
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444 | 444 | | retary shall not be required to reinitiate consultation 14 |
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445 | 445 | | under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act 15 |
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446 | 446 | | of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of 16 |
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447 | 447 | | title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 17 |
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448 | 448 | | regulation), on a land management plan approved, 18 |
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449 | 449 | | amended, or revised under this section when— 19 |
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450 | 450 | | ‘‘(A) a new species is listed or critical habi-20 |
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451 | 451 | | tat is designated under the Endangered Species 21 |
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452 | 452 | | Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 22 |
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453 | 453 | | ‘‘(B) new information reveals effects of the 23 |
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454 | 454 | | land management plan that may affect a spe-24 |
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455 | 455 | | cies listed or critical habitat designated under 25 |
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459 | 459 | | that Act in a manner or to an extent not pre-1 |
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460 | 460 | | viously considered.’’. 2 |
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461 | 461 | | (b) B |
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462 | 462 | | UREAU OFLANDMANAGEMENTPLANS.—Sec-3 |
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463 | 463 | | tion 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 4 |
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464 | 464 | | of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) is amended by adding at the 5 |
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465 | 465 | | end the following: 6 |
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466 | 466 | | ‘‘(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 7 |
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467 | 467 | | Secretary shall not be required to reinitiate consultation 8 |
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468 | 468 | | under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 9 |
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469 | 469 | | 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of title 50, 10 |
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470 | 470 | | Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), 11 |
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471 | 471 | | on a land use plan approved, amended, or revised under 12 |
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472 | 472 | | this section when— 13 |
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473 | 473 | | ‘‘(1) a new species is listed or critical habitat 14 |
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474 | 474 | | is designated under the Endangered Species Act of 15 |
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475 | 475 | | 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 16 |
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476 | 476 | | ‘‘(2) new information reveals effects of the land 17 |
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477 | 477 | | use plan that may affect a species listed or critical 18 |
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478 | 478 | | habitat designated under that Act in a manner or to 19 |
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479 | 479 | | an extent not previously considered.’’. 20 |
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483 | 483 | | SEC. 402. AMENDMENT TO CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR 1 |
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484 | 484 | | COLLABORATIVE RESTORATION PROJECTS. 2 |
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485 | 485 | | Section 603(c)(1) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 3 |
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486 | 486 | | Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(c)(1)) is amended by strik-4 |
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487 | 487 | | ing ‘‘3000 acres’’ and inserting ‘‘10,000 acres’’. 5 |
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488 | 488 | | Æ |
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